Fishing lure

ABSTRACT

A fishing lure for connection to a leader and adapted to trail a fishhook, the lure including a bias means which yields when a fish initially strikes the fishhook, the lure further including a relatively heavy mass to provide inertial resistance to movement so that the fishhook is abruptly and forcibly set when the bias means ceases to yield further.

Unite States Patent Craig Sept. 26, 1972 [54] FISHING LURE 3,035,3685/1962 Collins ..43/42.39 Inventor: Jack Q- g, 101st Ave, LCMSICTPortland o g v whltlS 998,238 7/1911 Dineen ..43/42.2 [22] Filed: Sept.30, 1970 2,078,816 4/1937 Shenitz ..43/42.21 X

21 .N I 1 App] 0 76699 Primary Examiner-Samuel Koren AssistantExaminer-Daniel J. Leach [52] US. Cl. ..43/15, 43/4204, 43/4206,Attorney-Fulwider, Patton, Rieber, Lee & Utecht 43 42.21, 43/4235,43/4239, 43/4272 [51] Int. Cl. ..A0lk 85/00 [5 7] ABSTRACT [58] Field ofSearch 32 L 55 A fishing lure for connection to a leader and adapted totrail a fishhook, the lure including a bias means which yields when afish initially strikes the fishhook, [56] References Cited the lurefurther including a relatively heavy mass to UNITED STATES PATENTSprovide inertial resistance to movement so that the fishhook is abruptlyand forcibly set when the bias ilpratiue means ceases to yield funhen iner 1,538,658 5/1925 Rindt ..43/42.02 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures FISHINGLURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The presentinvention relates to a fishing lure and more particularly to a fishinglure in which the fishhook is enabled to initially yield upon beingstruck by a fish.

2. Description of the Prior Art With the usual lure, whether it be towedfrom a boat or cast and pulled in, there is a certain amount of sag orcatenary in the line. This allows a fish to take the bait and fishhookin his mouth in an exploratory fashion, gradually taking slack out ofthe sagging line, and usually without the fisherman knowing that thebait has been taken. Consequently, before the fisherman can even feel atug on the line, the fish may reject the bait because he does not likethe taste, he may notice the hook, etc. Certain lures in the prior artfurther aggravate this problem by incorporating a resilient section inthe line, or by including in the lure itself some mechanism to provideyieldability, so that when a fish first strikes the fishhookthe hookyields even prior to the taking up of the sag or catenary in the lineitself. Apparently the theory of operation of such devices is that ifthe fishhook becomes lodged upon an underwater obstruction, or if thehook is struck by a very heavy fish, that the shock will-not break theline or tear the fishhook out of the fishs mouth. Such devices do notprovide any means for suddenly or forcibly setting the fishhook once theinitial yieldability or slack is taken out of the yieldable portion ofthe line or the yieldable mechanism in the lure itself. Consequently,many fish are lost because no means are provided for forcibly settingthe fishhook during the exploratory pass by the fish at the hook, andprior to the time that the fisherman feels any tug on the line.

SUMMARY According to the present invention a fishing lure is providedwhich includes a bias means coupling the body of the lure and thefishhook which is trailed by the lure. This arrangement permits thefishhook to be moved rearwardly relative to the lure body when thefishhook is struck by a fish. The lure further includes a relativelyheavy mass which offers inertial resistance to changes in movement ofthe lure, which is designed to be towed in a trolling operation orpulled through the water after a cast. Consequently, after the initialyielding movement of the fishhook when it is first struck by the fish,further movement of the fishhook is abruptly stopped and the relativelyheavy mass incorporated in the lure suddenly and forcibly sets thefishhook in the fishs mouth, despite the fact that there may be anappreciable sag or catenary in the towing or casting line. Curved finsmay be provided on the lure body to give the body a spinning motion asit passes through the water. Once the movement of the fishhook againstthe bias of the bias means is suddenly terminated, as just mentioned,any force by the fish tending to move the lure body rearwardly isfurther resisted by the resistance of the body to any slowing of itsspinning, or to any reverse spinning.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent fromconsideration of the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of afishing lure according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the lure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the lure of FIG. 2, andillustrating the retracted position of the elongated element which iscoupled to the fishhook; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but illustrating the elongatedelement in its extended position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings,there is illustrated a fishing lure 10 comprising an elongated,streamlined body 12 which is preferably made of plastic material formedinto complemental body halves l4 and 16 which define a hollow interior18. The body halves l4 and 16 are connected together in any suitablemanner, such as by utilizing an adhesive or plastic solvent at thepoints where the body halves fit together.

The forward end of the body 12 includes an opening through which an eye20 is carried, the eye 20 providing a means for connection of the lure10 to the swivel 22 of a leader 24 of a usual fishing line (not shown).

The body 12 is fitted with four fins 26 whose trailing I edges arecurved as illustrated so as to give the body 12 a counterclockwisespinning action, as viewed toward the direction of movement of the lure10.

The forward and rearward extremities of the body 12 and also themidportion of the body 12 are provided with openings 28 to enable waterto enter into the hollow interior 18 to reduce the buoyancy of the lure10.

The lure 10 is adapted to trail a usual barbed fishhook 30 by means ofan elongated element or line 32 which extends into the hollow interior18 through an opening 34 provided in the trailing end of the body 12.The line 32 is axially or longitudinally slidable through the opening 34and through an aligned opening provided in the rearward end of anelongated tube 36 which is adhesively secured at its rearward andforward ends to the rearward and forward interior surfaces of the body12, as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The line 32 is attached to one end of a bias means or tension spring 38by means of a swivel 40. The spring 38 extends forwardly and within theinterior of the tube 36, being connected to an eye 42 mounted to theforward end of the tube 36. When the line 32 is initially pulled, aswhen the hook 30 is struck by a fish, the spring 38 will stretch forapproximately an inch and a half, at which time the swivel 40 and itsassociated connections will engage and abut against the rearward ortrailing end of the tube 36 which forms a part of the body 12. Thisbrings the resilient pay-out of the spring 38 to an abrupt halt. It isimportant to note that once the pay-out of the line 32 is stopped, thetendency of the lure 10 to move rearwardly to take the usual sag out ofthe towing fish line is resisted by an inertial mass constituted of acoil of lead weight 44 which is wrapped about the exterior of the tube36.

As previously indicated, with the usual lure the sag or catenary in thetowing fish line permits a fish to take the bait and hook in his mouthin an exploratory fashion, gradually taking slack out of the line sag,without the fisherman knowing that the bait has been taken. Often thefish then rejects the bait and a catch is lost. With the lure of thepresent invention, the fish may take the bait and hook in an exploratoryfashion, gradually extending the spring 38 as the line 32 is resilientlypulled outwardly. When the yieldable payout of the line 32 is abruptlyhalted, the sudden stop forcibly sets the hook in the fishs mouth, andwithout any necessity for the fisherman to jerk on the line to set thehook. The setting of the hook is enabled by inertia of the lure 10provided by the lead weight 44 and the lure spinning provided by thefins 26.

Various modifications and changes may be made with regard to theforegoing detailed description without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

I claim:

1. A fishing lure comprising:

an elongated hollow body having an opening in one extremity andconfigured to be pulled through the water;

an elongated element extending and freely slidable through said opening;

a bias means located in the hollow interior of said body, coupling saidbody and said element, and enabling comparatively easy, resilientrelative movement of said element outwardly of said body, said elementbeing otherwise unconstrained against free axial slidable movement, saidbias means including swivel means enabling rotation of said bodyrelative to and about the longitudinal axis of said element;

stop means engageable between said element and said body to abruptlyhalt said relative movement;

a relatively heavy mass carried by said body and offering inertialresistance to changes in movement of said body whereby coupling of saidbody to one of a leader and a fishhook, and coupling of said element tothe other of said leader and said fishhook, enables a fish striking thefishhook to initially effect said comparatively easy relative movementof said element and thereafter forcibly set the fishhook upon abruptcessation of said relative movement by said stop means; and

a plurality of curved fins mounted to the exterior of said body andoperative to spin said body about said longitudinal axis upon forwardmovement of said body through the water whereby there is providedadditional inertial resistance to rearward movement of said body by afish striking the fishhook.

2. A fishing lure according to claim 1 wherein said bias means is atension spring.

3. A fishing lure according to claim 1 wherein said opening is in thetrailing extremity of said body, said body is adapted for coupling tothe leader, and said element is adapted for coupling to the fishhook.

4. A fishing lure according to claim 1 wherein said swivel means islocated within the hollow interior of said body.

1. A fishing lure comprising: an elongated hollow body having an openingin one extremity and configured to be pulled through the water; anelongated element extending and freely slidable through said opening; abias means located in the hollow interior of said body, coupling saidbody and said element, and enabling comparatively easy, resilientrelative movement of said element outwardly of said body, said elementbeing otherwise unconstrained against free axial slidable movement, saidbias means including swivel means enabling rotation of said bodyrelative to and about the longitudinal axis of said element; stop meansengageable between said element and said body to abruptly halt saidrelative movement; a relatively heavy mass carried by said body andoffering inertial resistance to changes in movement of said body wherebycoupling of said body to one of a leader and a fishhook, and coupling ofsaid element to the other of said leader and said fishhook, enables afish striking the fishhook to initially effect said comparatively easyrelative movement of said element and thereafter forcibly set thefishhook upon abrupt cessation of said relative movement by said stopmeans; and a plurality of curved fins mounted to the exterior of saidbody and operative to spin said body about said longitudinal axis uponforward movement of said body through the water whereby there isprovided additional inertial resistance to rearward movement of saidbody by a fish striking the fishhook.
 2. A fishing lure according toclaim 1 wherein said bias means is a tension spring.
 3. A fishing lureaccording to claim 1 wherein said opening is in the trailing extremityof said body, said body is adapted for coupling to the leader, and saidelement is adapted for coupling to the fishhook.
 4. A fishing lureaccording to claim 1 wherein said swivel means is located within thehollow interior of said body.